The White House and congressional leaders from both parties reached a $2 trillion stimulus deal early Wednesday that will include direct payments to most Americans and an unprecedented amount of money to small businesses that have been pushed to the brink.

The hope is that such a stimulus package will help Americans who have already suffered layoffs as the coronavirus shut down millions of U.S. businesses.

“Ladies and gentlemen, we are done. We have a deal,” White House legislative affairs director Eric Ueland told reporters around 1 a.m.

The unprecedented economic relief bill would give direct payments to most Americans, expand unemployment benefits and provide a $367 billion program for small businesses to keep making payroll while workers are forced to stay home.

Full details of the stimulus bill are expected to be revealed later Wednesday.

The agreement caps five days of negotiations and comes hours after Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell told reporters, “We are on the 5-yard-line.”

The deal also comes after President Donald Trump said he hoped to "open up" the nation by Easter.

"Our country has to get back to work,'' Trump said. "Otherwise, it's going to be very hard to start it up again."

The U.S. neared 800 coronavirus-induced deaths early Wednesday after stocks soared and the Summer Olympics were delayed on Tuesday.

The U.S. death toll was at 797. The country had more than 55,000 confirmed cases of the coronavirus, trailing only Italy and China. New York state, now testing more than 16,000 people daily, has about half the U.S. cases and its hospital system is straining under a crushing demand for medical treatment of the virus.

Experts say confirmed cases reflect how much testing is done, and as the U.S. gets more tests, more confirmed cases are expected.

Donald Trump: 'I'd love to have the country opened up and raring to go by Easter'

President Donald Trump said he hopes the country can return to relative normalcy by Easter, April 12. Trump, in a virtual town hall on Fox News, said people can go back to work and still practice social distancing, wash their hands frequently and take other precautions. The flu kills tens of thousands of Americans each year, but the nation does not shut down for it, he added.

"I’d love to have the country opened up and raring to go by Easter," Trump said.

Asked whether that was feasible, Trump said it's not only possible but necessary to soon lift the current social-isolation measures that have sent the economy into a spiral.

“Again, this cure is worse than the problem,'' Trump said. "Many people, in my opinion more people, are going to die if we allow this to continue. We have to get back to work.’’

Some governors confronting the pandemic in their states pushed back against Trump's timeline, pointing out they've been imposing restrictions, not easing them. Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, a Republican, accused the White House of running on a schedule made of an “imaginary clock.”

NYU will graduate medical students early, put more doctors in field

New York University will offer senior medical students an opportunity to graduate a few months early — provided they’ve met all their requirements and have all their credits — to put more doctors in the field to fight the coronavirus.

Students were told Tuesday night via email that details were still being worked out, but that they might be able to start working as soon as April.

NYU’s Grossman School of Medicine has made the offer to students “in response to Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s directive to get more physicians into the health system more quickly," the school said in a statement, according to media reports.

– Lindsay Schnell

As colleges send students home, Liberty University invites them back

Most of the students are not at-risk because of their age, President Jerry Falwell Jr. argued in an interview with the News and Advance in Lynchburg. The president of the private, Christian college is a prominent supporter of President Donald Trump.

Liberty's move is remarkable as the coronavirus spreads across the United States. Hundreds of universities have closed their campuses and asked students to leave crowded dorms. Some have allowed students who can’t move back home – international students or those without secure housing – but most campuses are becoming emptier, not fuller.

– Chris Quintana

Coronavirus Task Force: If you've been to New York City, self-quarantine

Members of the coronavirus task force are advising anybody who has been in the New York metropolitan area recently to self-quarantine for two weeks to avoid spreading the virus.

Deborah Birx, the White House coronavirus response coordinator, said recent visitors may have been exposed to the virus and should take measures to avoid infecting others.

"This will be very critical, that those individuals do self-quarantine in their homes over these next 14 days to make sure they don’t pass the virus to others based on the time they left New York,'' Birx said. "So if they are four days out, it is just 10 more days.”

That applies not only to New York tourists but also to those who live there and have left recently, perhaps to get away from the U.S. epicenter of the pandemic.

Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said people in the New York City metro area have been infected at a rate eight to 10 times higher than elsewhere.

"Which means when they go to another place for their own safety, they’ve got to be careful and monitor themselves,'' Fauci said. "If they get sick, bring it to the attention of a physician. Get tested.''

– Erick Smith

Dow Jones surges more than 2,100 points, largest jump since March 1933

The blue-chip average surged more than 2,100 points, or 11.4%, to close at 20,704.91, its largest percentage gain since March 1933 after slumping to a three-year low a day earlier. The Standard & Poor’s 500 jumped 9.4% to end at 2,447.33, its biggest gain since October 2008.

Following a turbulent start to the week, stocks stabilized and Treasury yields rose in a sign that investors are feeling less fearful as Congress was nearing a rescue plan that could inject $2 trillion into the economy. The market has seen rebounds like this before, only for them to wash out immediately.

– Jessica Menton

Walmart, Kroger, Albertsons add sneeze guards amid coronavirus

Retailers have reduced store hours to make time for deep cleanings and now are adding a new layer of protection – sneeze guards.

Walmart and some of the nation's largest grocery store chains – Kroger and Albertsons – are installing plexiglass barriers or partitions to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus and protect both shoppers and store employees.

The protective screens will stand between a customer and a cashier so that any airborne droplets - either from a cough or a sneeze - will be blocked from hitting the person on the other side.

"Installing these barriers is another way Walmart is helping bring peace of mind that we are doing everything we can to keep our people and our stores safe," Dacona Smith, executive vice president and chief operating officer, Walmart U.S., wrote in a blog post Tuesday.

– Kelly Tyko

First U.S. minor to die of the virus

The coronavirus, known to unleash its harshest effects on the elderly, has claimed the life of a minor for the first time in the U.S.

A youth under 18 from Lancaster, California, became the country's first such victim of COVID-19, Los Angeles County health officials reported Tuesday. Health officials did not identify the youth or provide other details, such as whether the person had underlying health conditions.

Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer called the death "a devastating reminder that COVID-19 infects people of all ages."

People between 18 and 40 years old make up 42% of positive cases, Ferrer said.

– Joel Shannon and Ryan W. Miller

Fever charting shows social distancing is slowing the spread of coronavirus

Early evidence suggests closing bars, restaurants and other businesses to keep people apart has slowed the incidence of fevers that are an early indicator of coronavirus, according to a new analysis of fevers and symptoms across the U.S.

Data from health technology company Kinsa, which did the analysis using its digital thermometers, show the number of people with flu-like illness — atypical fever and symptoms — began dropping almost immediately after mandatory social distancing measures were implemented in some areas.

The company downloads fever readings from more than 1 million thermometers in use around the U.S. It predicted the 2018 spread of the flu and bad colds that were often mistaken for the flu last winter.

"When you shut down schools and businesses, you are breaking the chain of infections," said Kinsa CEO Inder Singh. "The data are showing it is working and the clusters of fever we were seeing are leveling off and diminishing within days."

– Jayne O'Donnell

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo: Hospitals could be overwhelmed within 2 weeks

New York state could be just two weeks from seeing 40,000 patients requiring intensive care in facilities equipped for only 3,000, Gov. Andrew Cuomo warned. Cuomo, at his daily news conference, said the infection rate in New York is doubling about every three days and that daily infection numbers could peak next month. His state is home to almost half of the nation's infections, although New York tests an estimated 16,000 people each day, far more than other states.

Cuomo said his state has the fastest rate of infection but said California, Washington, Illinois and other states should take heed because "we are your future."

“We are not slowing it. And it is accelerating on its own,” he said in New York City. "We are now looking at a bullet train."

Hopkins expert: Ending social distancing could cost millions of lives

Dr. Tom Inglesby, director of the Center for Health Security of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, warned in a series of tweets that curbing social distancing could cost millions of lives. Inglesby said the U.S has been seeing exponential growth in coronavirus cases and that health officials are just beginning to understand how pervasive it is.

"Anyone advising the end of social distancing now, needs to fully understand what the country will look like if we do that," he tweeted. "COVID would spread widely, rapidly, terribly, could kill potentially millions in the yr ahead with huge social and economic impact across the country."

Japan says Summer Olympics delayed to 2021

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach have agreed to postpone the 2020 Summer Olympics. According to a tweet from the Japanese Prime Minister's office, the two agreed that the Games will not be canceled and "will be held by the summer of 2021." It is the first time in modern Olympic history that a global health issue has disrupted the Games.

Positive test from 'coronavirus party,' Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshea

In making the annoucement, Bashear said the case in question stemmed from a "coronavirus party," a practice he admonished and said should stop right away.

"Anyone who goes to something like this may think that they are indestructible," Beshear said. "But its someone else's loved one that they are going to hurt. We are battling for the health, even the lives, of our parents and our grandparents.''

– Mandy McLaren, Louisville Courier Journal

Alaska, Hawaii, Florida mandate quarantines

Alaska and Hawaii are the first two states to mandate a 14-day quarantine for all visitors and residents arriving at state airports. Alaska's order goes into effect Wednesday and will be reviewed by April 21. Hawaii's order is effective Thursday.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis also issued an executive order requiring anyone flying to Florida from New York, New Jersey or Connecticut to self-isolate for 14 days upon arrival. That mandate took effect Tuesday.

-- Nicquel Terry Ellis

Virus might live on surfaces for more than 2 weeks

A new Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report indicates the virus can live on surfaces for more than two weeks. The CDC found traces of COVID-19 on surfaces in the cabins of both symptomatic and asymptomatic infected passengers on the Diamond Princess cruise ship – 17 days after passengers had left the cabins. Of note, the cabins had yet to be disinfected. While the data doesn't show if transmission occurred from surfaces, the CDC report recommends exploring that further.

– David Oliver

85% of new COVID cases in US, Europe

Worldwide totals for deaths and infections from coronavirus are expected to increase considerably as numbers are updated throughout Tuesday.

World Health Organization spokeswoman Dr. Margaret Harris said overnight reporting showed 85% of the new cases are being reported in Europe and the United States. On Monday, WHO counted more than 334,000 total cases globally. Harris said the outbreak is accelerating rapidly and the case numbers obtained overnight "will put that up considerably.” The Hopkins dashboard had more than 400,000 early Tuesday.

WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said it took 67 days from the first reported coronavirus cases to reach 100,000. The next 100,000 took 11 days, the next 100,000 just four days.

“Neither of us knows how we contracted the virus, but the good news — if there is any to be had — is that far fewer people crossed our paths recently than is usually the case,” he said. The couple started working from home and adopted social-distancing measures on March 14.

– Joey Garrison

Italy sees drop in deaths for second day in a row

The number of new confirmed cases and deaths in Italy fell for the second straight day, Emergency Commissioner and Civil Protection Chief Angelo Borrelli said. Monday's death toll was 601, down from 651 on Sunday and 793 on Saturday. Nearly 70,000 Italians have been confirmed as infected and more than 6,800 have died. However, a report saying there may be 10 non-recorded coronavirus cases for every registered one in Italy is "credible," Borelli told the ANSA news service.

The lieutenant governor of Texas wants the United States to go back to work, saying grandparents like him don’t want to sacrifice the country’s economy during the coronavirus crisis. Republican Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, 69, made the comments on Fox News’ “Tucker Carlson Tonight” after Trump said he wanted to reopen the country for business in weeks, not months. Patrick said grandparents, considered most threatened by COVID-19 because of age, wouldn’t want to sacrifice their grandchildren’s economic future.

“No one reached out to me and said, ‘As a senior citizen, are you willing to take a chance on your survival in exchange for keeping the America that all America loves for your children and grandchildren?’ ” Patrick said. “And if that’s the exchange, I’m all-in.”

– Adrianna Rodriguez

In China, Hubei's 2-month lockdown starts to ease

The province in China where the coronavirus pandemic originated in December will lift travel restrictions on people leaving the region, China's authorities said Tuesday. Hubei's two-month lockdown ends at midnight, although people will only be able to leave the area if they are coronavirus-free and have been given a clean bill of health.

Wuhan, Hubei's provincial capital, will remain locked down until April 8.